Business owners usually spend a lot of thought and money on the aesthetics of their websites. But having a good-looking website is pointless if nobody is actually finding it or looking for it.
Just to give you an idea: Google receives more than 5 billion search requests on average a day! That’s a lot of potential viewers you don’t want to be missing out on, and securing a spot on the first pages of a search engine is no easy task.
While it seems daunting, it is possible to improve your website visibility online without stretching your limits. We will show you how to use 7 days and 7 steps to improve your website visibility.
DAY 1: Update your business information
Many people change their phone numbers, emails or office addresses but often forget to update these information in their websites, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and other social media pages! The worst thing that could happen is someone wanting to contact you but your phone number/email address is not active or incorrect. Do a quick audit on your website and social media pages right now and check if any crucial information has been changed or needs updating!
DAY 2: Complete your profiles on LinkedIn
DAY 2: Complete your profiles on LinkedInYour social media profile often appears in the search results. The objective is to ensure many ways for people to find you, so make sure your profile is complete. Upload a photo and add details to your personal profile. Link to your website clearly. Don’t make the mistake of putting up your resume on LinkedIn as this is the worst way to make a good impression. Instead, describe what you’ve done and your experience. You should also start a company profile page on LinkedIn. This will be a separate entity from your personal profile page. Your employees can link to this company page once you have set it up.
DAY 3: Claim your Google My Business (GMB) page
Many businesses don’t know that by doing this, they are already one notch above their competitors. It’s a free page offered by Google and helps with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) which means your business is more visible online. It also prevents ‘poachers’ from using your GMB page to lure customers away. However, once you claim it, you need to update it. You can’t claim it and forget about it.
DAY 4: Remove old website content
How many times have you browsed your own website? Do you know what’s outdated or what’s needed but missing? Comb through your website and make notes on what to add or what to remove. Work with your web designer on this aspect and this will reduce website bloat immensely. Perhaps it’s time to get a website redesign if things are too cluttered. When your website is clean and fresh, it works better too!
DAY 5: Improve your website speed
Did you know that site loading speed is a factor in Google rankings? Discuss with your web designer and ask if your website is optimized for fast loading. These days there are plenty of useful tools to help you improve your website performance and speed. This is where working with a good website provider will help a lot.
DAY 6: Schedule a variety of content on your FB & other social media platforms.
Alternate between content from your website and external sources. The idea is to draw attention to your brand first. Making the sale comes after people know, like and trust you. (Have you seen our 99 social media tips to help you power up your social media savviness?)
DAY 7: Engage with the people who react/respond to your social media content
You don’t have to get into a lengthy conversation, simple acknowledgements such as ‘Thank You for your comment’ or an FB reaction should suffice. But keep it genuine and avoid using cookie-cutter responses.
This article is contributed by Krista Goon of Redbox Studio, a web design and marketing firm in Penang. Redbox Studio’s speciality is in creating websites with marketing strategy to help business owners increase their online visibility, credibility and profitability.
